Page 47 of Hide and Seek
“That won’t be a problem,” I tell her. “But while I’d love to stand here and do this all day, I’ve got more pressing things to discuss.”
“Oh, and what’s that? You need a list of all my favorite vibrators ranked in order of just how quickly they get the job done? Because that won’t take me long. I’ve already got it written up in my notes.”
My mouth opens as I go to respond, but the words fall flat, and for the first time, I’m fucking speechless. “We’re gonna discuss that list in great detail,” I tell her. “But this is about last night. I was able to get the security footage from the morgue.”
She sucks in a gasp, and I cringe, hearing the immediate change in her mood, even over the phone. “You got it?”
“Sorry, doll. I should have eased you into that, but yeah. I know someone in security and was able to get those few hours from last night, but if we want anything from the previous nights, we’ll have to submit an application, and it could take weeks.”
“Fuck,” she mutters. “Did you find anything?”
“Yeah, I uhhhh . . . It was just the janitor in there last night.”
I can practically hear her shaking her head through the phone, and I pull my phone away for just a second to forward her the email so she can see for herself. “No,” she says, sounding out of breath. “It couldn’t have been. I could sense him there.”
“I don’t know what to tell you, Harper. I’ve reviewed the footage, and it’s clear. I’ve just forwarded it to you so you can see for yourself, but despite it being the janitor, you did the right thing. You were scared and you hid, and because of that, you kept yourself safe. Had that not been the janitor and you just stayed at your desk, the night could have ended very differently.”
Harper lets out a heavy sigh. “Your email just came through.”
Knowing she’s opening the footage just as quickly as I had, my lips press into a hard line, and despite my shift starting, I wait with her, letting her go through the motion. “Shit. It really is the janitor,” she murmurs with a pained groan. “I’m so embarrassed. Who locks themself in a refrigeration unit because they’re scared of the janitor?”
“Don’t be embarrassed,” I tell her. “Like I said, considering everything that’s happened, you did the right thing. But at least you can sleep easy knowing it wasn’t some crazed murderer. Besides, it was worth it to watch you come out of that shower and demand I eat your tight little cunt while laying down the rules.”
“Knight,” she groans.
“Listen, I wanted to ask you, the night the body came in, you said that it was Gray, right?”
“Yeah,” she says, confirming what I thought. “He came in with that weird coroner and said this one needed to be prioritized, so I got started straight away.”
“Right, okay.”
There is a slight pause. “Why?” she finally asks, an edge to her tone.
“It’s nothing. Just wanted to confirm.”
“Knight,” she demands, that edge hitching higher and taking no prisoners, making it clear she won’t stop until she’s satisfied we’re on the same page.
I let out a heavy sigh. “I spoke to Gray yesterday, and he mentioned that he didn’t pick up a case that night. He was on scene at a house fire. An older man died from smoke inhalation, but he’s adamant he didn’t set foot in the morgue that night.”
“No, that’s not right. A different body came in that matches that description, but Gray was definitely there with the coroner. I saw him with my own eyes.”
“Yeah, I believe you, doll. I just don’t understand why Gray would lie about it,” I muse, none of this makes sense. “I spoke to him about it again, and now he claims that there’s nothing in our system about a homicide that night matching the victim’s description. He’s insisting that I’ve got the details wrong.”
“What the fuck? Is he saying I made it up?”
“I don’t know what he’s trying to say, but it seems suspicious to me. I don’t like it,” I tell her. “I don’t know Gray that well, but I’ve never liked him. Either way, I’m going to keep looking into it.”
“Okay,” she says nervously. “Do you think it might be him?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure. He doesn’t strike me as the stalker type, and from what I know of him, he doesn’t have the extensive medical experience one would need to pull off the shit that was done to the victim. He knows something, but he could be a pawn in a much bigger game.”
“Fuck.”
“My thoughts exactly,” I tell her. “But listen, I have to run, okay? My shift started, but if you decide to go into work, just keep your eyes open, yeah?”
“I will.”
“Alright, Morticia. I’ll see you later.”
